Hey guys! I wanted to talk a bit about myself along with what I witnessed as a new Marine.

I grew up in a Vietnamese American family that firmly believes in the American Dream that many believe in because of the propaganda put out there. Everyone should know it by heart now: You go to school, get good grades, graduate from elementary, middle, high school, and college, with a piece of paper saying that you’re qualified to see the world, work in it, and make the most out of it.

I don’t blame my parents; they grew up in a war that was started off of a lie, and had little to nothing when they escaped over here to start a new chapter in their lives. But they fell for what the statists in this world want us all to do: by not living freely through working a mediocre job in the name of security, and getting their kids to do it to continue to endless cycle.

Growing up, I always wanted to be in the military, thinking that I was going to serve my country and all, but after listening to Ron Paul early on in college and waking up to what is really going on, I didn’t want to join because I didn’t want to participate in wars that our country didn’t need to be involved in.

It was also the same time I dropped out of college because I realized that the degree that I was pursuing (Communications), was as worthless as post World War I German currency.

That didn’t sit well with my parents because they wanted me to go to college and gave an ultimatum: go back to college or join the military. I could have just walked out and started a new life but besides the fact that it’s complete disrespect, I didn’t have money so I meekly chose the latter by joining the Marine Corps.

I thought I was doing a favor by getting a challenge in life by joining the Few and the Proud, but when I got there, here’s what I witnessed that I don’t think many people know (If you do know, then I guess I’m repeating for you guys).

1. The Marine Corps has lowered its standards to the point where the dumbest of the dumbest can pass. Heck, you would have to try to fail in order to get dropped in anything. Just look at the PFT standards, if you can’t do two pullups, then I wonder how you even got to Recruit Training to begin with. It’s not just physical standards, but it spills over to academic learning and being a part of the team.

2. Hypocrisy was prevalent throughout Recruit Training. Drill Instructors taught us never to dehumanize a dead combatant, yet many told stories of how they poked eyeballs of dead people, stole war trophies, and killed civilians without remorse. Besides dehumanizing the enemy and telling us not to do it, they were also discouraging people not to chew but they themselves were rubbing it in the faces of those who did.

I’m not a tobacco chewer myself but isn’t that hypocritical?

3. Instead of changing boys to men as advertised, it makes young men who decide to join submissive and brings the worst habits out of many individuals. I’ve seen many guys become as many would like to say, “boot” (where the guy can no longer speak in first person, stand at parade rest in places that don’t even require parade rest, or have no emotions at all), and outright selfish. Am I advertising statism itself by saying they had to change their individual habits, especially the selfish people? No, but I want to point out how it’s all completely false advertisement when people say that joining the military will make them mature and into men. It doesn’t.

That being said, despite all this, I still managed to spread the message of liberty throughout boot camp in small doses. Many guys in my platoon really accepted it (except for the guys that aren’t awake yet, these guys I’d like to call the typical “Fox News Republican”), and some even reconsidered their plans of a career in the Corps.

But I’d like to take it a step further, how can I continue to spread the message of liberty in a statist environment? And if I ever decided to get out, what’s the process to do so if I don’t want to be in there for 4 years?

While I’m proud of claiming the title and truly wanting to serve the people and not the racket in DC as an Oathkeeper, I honestly am not proud of what I’ve seen in the Marine Corps so far.

When I was younger, I entertained the idea of joining the Marines. I was incredibly naive. I thought it would be a personal challenge, that I could travel and receive other benefits, and that the government would never send young men and women into harm’s way unless absolutely necessary. I even took the entrance exam, and the recruiter told me everything I wanted to hear. “With a score like this, you can do anything you want,” he said.

Then I was presented with the papers to officially sign on. I can’t explain it, but something struck me like a bolt of lightning and I realized that as soon as I signed on that line, I would become government property and my life would change forever. I left in a hurry.

The fact is, Marines are nothing more than government killers. They serve the interests of the political elite. The commit heinous crimes against humanity on a regular basis.

My advice to you is to do everything possible to get out of the military immediately. It’s an evil institution. Pretty soon, unless you are very lucky, you will be sent somewhere to participate in heinous activity that will change you forever.

No matter what your intentions, you can’t do good. You are willingly taking up arms in service of the most powerful state in human history. Why would you do such a thing? How can you possibly serve the cause of liberty by doing such a thing?

Save yourself and anyone else you can, refuse to kill or be killed in the name of the state, and put your life on a path where you can choose your own destiny instead of taking orders from the state.

An excellent post and a dire predicament. I hear you. First, recognize that you are the sum total of your life experience, right now. As such, you’ve had a lifetime of conditioning that informed your choices to bring you to your present circumstances. Considerable conditioning goes into creating the feelings of patriotism and fervor that made you and the people around you join the service of the state.

Second, as Walter Block says, you’re not just dealing in stolen property by receiving a paycheck from the government, but liberating funds that would otherwise be used for corrupt purposes. Further, the system is so rigged to the state’s advantage that there is very little action a person can take that does not touch on the state apparatus. Criticize Ayn Rand for accepting social security? Not a chance, the state stole 12.6% of her lifetime earnings first. Want to take a taxi in New York City? Only if you’re willing to support the legal monopoly of “medallions” imposed upon the market, otherwise you & the cabbie face arrest. Additionally, most financial transactions force you into using the state’s fiat currency in order to go about daily life.

So don’t think too heavily about the hypocrisy issue, everyone is operating in a constrained environment.

Third, pointing out the failures of the state is like shooting fish in a barrel. The emperor truly wears no clothes and is only shielded by a thin veneer. The military is loaded with contradictions and “truth speak”, so have fun pointing the finger.

Just today I responded to a report on how the government in Niger requires people to register their cell phone numbers in order to provide identification to their “mobile money” payments. I responded with this:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQfdSBq7flw

It made my office mates laugh, but also planted a subtle seed. Using humor is a great way of easily stimulating ideas while not alienating yourself. More with honey than with vinegar I believe the saying goes, and it will keep you from getting on the disciplinary radar. Stretch, but do not tear the envelope. Be sure to practice Leonard Read’s “Elements of Libertarian Leadership” and avoid making enemies in your quest for the cause.
Fourth, use your time to develop skills you can use in the future. Never forget why you are being paid presently, but plan for your next job. Learn all you can and learn about the subtle art of persuasion. Play for the breaks, but not a full-court press, for now.

Most of all, keep the faith! Nation-state democracy is a failing model and the next evolution of social organization, hopefully one founded upon private property, is accelerating with technology as the present “rulers” preside over a bankruptcy. Bureaucratic militaries are adding to the pace through the inherent incompetence and inefficiency.

The transition is going to require security professionals with tactical skills and a solid understanding of the freedom philosophy, so master your craft with the resources of your “enemy”. With such a foundation you have the potential for a key role in facilitating the advance of freedom.

1. You should join the ‘liberty-minded veterans’ group on l.me. Lots of us there that have dealt with similar issues.

2. Look into registering as a conscientious objector and don’t stay in any longer than you have to. The U.S. military is an evil organization that you don’t want to be a part of if you can get out.

3. I’m personally not a big fan of the oathkeeper organization, but it might be a good way to introduce liberty to some of your friends or maybe even your chain of command. They don’t have to join the organization to think seriously about what orders they would not follow. Although I have come to reject the state in its entirety, it is true that most of the encroachments on our liberty are done in violation of the Constitution, so there are worse things that people can do than keep their oaths to follow it.

One thing you’ll notice about the Marine Corps is that it’s highly fragmented, and that there’s typically not a lot of interaction or commonality between various units. We all dress the same, salute, and so forth, but a lot of the attitudes and cultural peculiarities you take for granted in your own platoon (or shop, or whatever) will be unique, and won’t translate well to others’ experiences. That being said, some of what I relate to you might be particular to my experience, and won’t be applicable to your situation.

Speaking to your initial impressions of the Marine Corps; I’m assuming that you’re a recent graduate of Boot Camp, and so don’t really have a great grip on Marine life in general. This, in my experience, takes a couple years. It’s really hard to separate the forest from the trees when you’re grinding your dick against twenty hour days, or field daying your room until dawn.

One thing that I hope you’ll take away from the experience is that the stereotypes of Marines as either soulless baby killers or as avatars of the just war, are laughable. Oversimplifications like this tend to come from people who marinate in their own ideology, and refuse to credulously interact with any other. The average AnCap, in my (subjective) experience, has about as blackwashed a perspective on military and police as the average Republican has, whitewashed.

While I considered myself politically agnostic for the majority of my time in the Corps, Marines tend to be either conservative or libertarian-leaning in nature. There’s a lot of shit-talking that occurs, towards hippies, liberals, and a lot of praising of ‘Merican ideals. With exceptions, this is generally not genuine animosity or affection, towards these groups in particular, but simply an expression of humor or aggression. In the same way an artist might express passion or some other emotion, through art, young, testosterone-driven, Marines will express aggression through their speech and behavior. This is kind of an important point when explaining Marines to civilians, and vice versa, Only infrequently is colloquial speech literal, and most people don’t engage in the amount of self reflection necessary to comprehensively understand what they want to express, much less to communicate that understanding verbally. Therefore, while a given Marine might have some anti-authoritarian or libertarian tendencies, they tend to be expressed through the most easily accessible rhetoric, which is generally the mom-dad-and-apple-pie language of republicanism.

That said, you’ll find very few people who care enough about politics to seriously identify as an adherent to any ideology. I’m not joking about the twenty hour days. A ten hour workday was not unusual for my company, and routinely, we’d have just enough time in the evenings to drink, make ramen, and beat off before falling into bed. Long talks about the moral orientation of the American nation, or norms of social organization, are conspicuously absent when Gunny wants every swinging dick at the company office right the fuck now or he’s going to lose his goddamn fucking mind.

EAS’d Marines, on the other hand, tend to be some of the most anti-authoritarian people I know, whether they express this as a political orientation or not. The vast majority favor drug legalization, gun rights, smaller government at all levels, have something of a strained relationships with police, and deeply resent being told what to do. They are a clannish lot, as are most groups that feel separate, or isolated from the mainstream, and are apt to equate an attack on the military in general, as an attack on their community in particular. While you certainly can reach these people by appealing to common understandings, and shared interests, telling them how evil they are according to your subjective moral valuations, is probably futile.

If you do decide that you want to get out, your best bet is to get out early. While you’re still in MOS training, is the best option, and, failing that, as soon as realistically possible. Early on in the process, you’re still eligible for discharge under terms of “failure to adapt,” and other relatively generic categories. Later on, its more likely that people around you will recognize a conscious attempt to break contract and it’ll be less likely that you’ll get a relatively benign OTH discharge, and more likely that you’ll end up with a dishonorable discharge. If you think that you’re not cut out for the Marine Corps, the best thing is probably to get out early. No one in any job likes working with someone whose heart’s not in the job, and the ante rises significantly if they’re ever depending on you to ensure their safety.

Some observations;

– The Marine Corps is one of the most acerbic, thankless, and challenging positions you’re ever likely to be in, if your unit was anything like mine. There’s no doubt in my mind that the mental, emotional, and physical challenges helped me grow as a person. I know as a libertarian, I’m duty-bound not to say good things about anything connected to the state, but this is genuinely my observation. By the same token, there are many people who broke down in some way when exposed to these stressors, but my (unusual) experience was positive. The Marine Corps was not good to me, but it was very good for me.

– I dealt with a lot of gigantic, planet-sized assholes, and petty megalomaniacs. You will too. The ratio of dickheads to good dudes is unusually rich there. There are good people, though, both in terms of common “I’d-have-a-beer-with-that-guy,” and in terms of “this guy honestly joined the military to do what he thinks best.” The couple of core friends that I came away with, though, remain the closest human relationships I have ever made. They are closer than blood, and I love and trust them completely.

– I’m going to make the assumption that you steered yourself toward a POG MOS that was not combat-arms related. This will probably improve your quality of life dramatically, and reduce the chances of your direct involvement in combat to approximately nil.

– All combat theaters are pretty quiet nowadays, and the military is cutting numbers. This will make it difficult to find a fight, and easy to get kicked out.

– Two six-packs of PBR are sometimes cheaper than one twelve pack. Use this knowledge to your advantage.

– The three greatest assets you can have are thick skin, a spine, and balls. The Marine Corps is not big on creative decision making, but it will be important for you to endure the shitty decisions of people above you.

Ultimately, everything I have to say will pale next to your own observations. A lot of my experience, as I’ve said, is specific. I’m painting a kind of rosy picture here, out of a reflexive desire to bring some balance to the stereotype that all of us are babykilling Satan-worshipping sociopaths who deserve to die. If you think I can help with any specific questions, you’re welcome to reach out to me.

To the guy above me and to you I want to clarify something. Libertarians at least not all of them just hate the guts of the military. But most of us take the careful approach an assume hostility until proven otherwise its the same thing with cops. It is very risky for us to trust cops and solders but you also have skills a lot of us in the community can use you can use this to your advantage. I would also advise joining Oath Keepers I have been meaning to get an associate membership but I haven’t had the cash.